Chapter 2
As the clock struck midnight, some people started celebrating Christmas outside with sparklers.
Charlotte pressed herself against the floor-to-ceiling window, lifting her head to watch it.
A scene replayed in her mind. Back before the Sinclair family took her in, there was a boy who once set off the most beautiful fireworks in the world with her.
After the fireworks faded, the boy regretfully marked off a spot on the ground.
"After this year, I'm heading back to Ashford. I'm afraid we won't see each other again," he said.
Charlotte cried for a long time, but she still couldn't keep her only friend by her side.
After she returned to the Sinclair family, she was flipping through countless date photos when she spotted Edward, whose captivating eyes were exactly like the boy's.
She agreed to the Foster family's marriage alliance without a second thought, and after the wedding, she shouldered every duty as the lady of the house.
All she ever wanted was for Edward to someday remember those days they spent together in the small town.
But what finally came to her was betrayal, again and again.
Especially after the ending of her previous life, even Charlotte couldn't be sure anymore if Edward really was the person she'd been looking for all along
The sparkers blurred Charlotte's vision.
She rubbed her eyes, and when she looked up again, she suddenly spotted Edward and Melissa outside.
Melissa was bouncing happily, and as the clock struck midnight, she and Edward kissed so intensely that Melissa arched backward, barely able to keep her balance.
The kiss ended.
Edward glanced up, locking eyes with Charlotte through the window.
He arched his brow and smirked playfully, showing not a hint of guilt.
Charlotte withdrew her gaze, letting it settle on her phone buzzing on the table.
A message arrived. [Congratulations. Your booking at Lakeview guesthouse for next month is confirmed.]
In her previous life, Charlotte had two regrets.
The first was being stuck with the Foster family her whole life, never getting to travel or see the world.
The second was being trapped in a marriage with Edward.
Even though he cheated on her over and over, she kept believing that as long as she was still his wife, he'd come back to her in the end.
With that thought, Charlotte pulled out the divorce agreement that Edward had tossed in front of her in a fit of anger during one of their arguments.
She carefully signed her name, stroke by stroke, and then slipped it back onto the shelf.
The next morning, Charlotte booked a ski trip.
As she walked past the master bedroom, she caught sight of clothes strewn across the floor, and Melissa's breathy moans echoed through the hallway.
"Charlotte." Charlotte was just about to leave when Edward called out from the bedroom. "Go buy me a box of condoms."
Charlotte snatched up the clothes from the floor and tossed them at the pair. "I'm in a hurry. I don't have time for this."
Edward frowned, stepping out in his robe with hickeys visible on his chest.
"Are you off to apologize to my mom?" he asked.
Charlotte shook her head.
When Edward saw her completely unfazed, his face suddenly fell. He grabbed her wrist roughly.
He demanded, "What's that supposed to mean?
"Charlotte, don't forget how the Sinclair family practically begged me to take you in. Are you really thinking of breaking our marriage agreement now?"
Charlotte pressed her lips together, and her hand at her side slowly curled into a fist.
Of course she remembered how the Foster family had tormented her back then.
That year, when the Sinclair family was short on money, they brought her back from the small town, just to groom her into Ashford's top socialite.
To avoid being married off to some bloated old tycoon, Charlotte went all out to win Edward's favor.
She followed him cave diving in an undeveloped cavern, and when they finally surfaced, she was hit with decompression sickness that left her paralyzed for nearly a month.
She raced cars with him through stormy nights, ending up battered and broken with bruises and fractures all over.
She went skydiving with him, and when it was time to pull the chute, she injured her shoulder so badly that she nearly lost hold of her parachute.
In that moment of crisis, Edward held her tightly.
"Are you really dead set on marrying me, even if it means just being my nominal wife?" he asked.
Charlotte looked at Edward, the carefree playboy she'd always known, and for the first time, there was a hint of sincerity in his eyes.
She nodded with determination.
After the wedding, the Foster family paid off the Sinclair family's debts, and for a while, Edward was so taken with Charlotte that he actually stayed faithful.
But one day, when Charlotte brought lunch to Edward at the office, she walked in to find him pressing Melissa against the desk, kissing her right by the ear.
With a thud, the lunchbox dropped from her hands and hit the floor.
Charlotte's eyes rimmed with tears as she stared at Edward who was lost in desire.
"Edward, you asked me to bring you lunch. So you wanted me to see this, didn't you?" Charlotte said.
Edward straightened Melissa's shirt, his lips curling into a reckless, mocking grin.
"Isn't it even more thrilling this way?" he taunted.
Charlotte, always the picture of elegance, finally snapped. Without another word, she spun around and fled the office.
She ran home in tears, desperately begging her parents to let her end the marriage.
But they always put the Sinclair family's interests above hers, pushing her to swallow her pride and give in time after time.
In her previous life, Charlotte was caught between Edward's endless betrayals and her parents' constant need for the Foster family's financial support. There was no way out.
She wasn't about to let history repeat itself.